AdMob has released their latest set of figures regarding the usage shares of various mobile platforms when it comes to web browsing. The figures are pretty clear: the big winners are the new kids on the block, iPhoneOS, Android, and webOS.

Sorry if I sound like a stuck record (assuming anyone using this site is old enough to remember what a stuck record sounds like) but this is the third time I've had to moan in recent months about an article on OSNews that's based on data with such a geographical skew that it's meaninglesss.

48% of requests analysed by admob come from North America. Western Europe, with a larger population that's similarly affluent and technophilic, accounts for just 9.6% of requests. Japan, the world's second largest economy, doesn't feature in the top 10 countries. Nor does China, the third largest economy. Come to think of it, Germany (4th largest economy) and Italy (7th largest) are missing, too. But Saudi Arabia - yes, really! - rolls in with more requests than France. This is nonsense on stilts balanced on top of a skyscraper built over a mountain.

I suggest that the relative movement of the various mobile operating systems described by admob says most about the timing of the release of new hardware by mobile operators in the countries where it has a significant advertising presence. And, despite the apparent boom in PalmOS usage, I've never seen anyone use it, never heard anyone talk about it and don't know anyone who knows anyone who uses it. Outside the USA it appears to be irrelevant. But, silly me! I forgot - the USA _is_ the world. At least, it's the world according to OSNews.